Big Ten doesn't plan on expanding

The Big Ten has no plans to expand from 11 to 12 schools in the near future, commissioner Jim Delany said Tuesday.

"Every three to five years, we take a look at it, and we'll continue to take a look at it," Delany said at the Big Ten's news conference in downtown Chicago. "It is not a front-burner issue."

It became a topic of conversation last week, after Delany met with the Des Moines Register editorial board. The paper reported that the start of the Big Ten Network made expansion likely, in Delany's view.

"The analysis (for expansion) is a little bit different," Delany said. "With a network, there's more room for content."

That shelf space will be filled with games involving 11 league schools for the time being. With expansion talk in the air, Delany even found himself calling Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese, who said there were no plans to poach either Syracuse or Rutgers, two schools around which speculation centered, for the Big Ten.

"From the talk, one would believe we're on the cusp of expansion, and that wouldn't be an accurate characterization," Delany said.

The Big Ten expanded from 10 to 11 teams in 1990, when Penn State joined. More recent, the conference and Notre Dame engaged in lengthy talks that ended in 1999, when the school's board of trustees decided to remain independent in football. Since then, the Big Ten hasn't actively considered any school.

A move to 12 teams would allow the conference to align into two divisions and stage a championship game in football. Delany said that wouldn't be the motivator behind any future expansion.

"We're not looking for a championship game," Delany said. "If we were, we would have had one 15 years ago. Our goal for all 11 institutions is, how can we get better?

Delany said the conference would consider the institutional fit - "Is the school like ours?" he said - its reputation for broad-based programs, for integrity in its administration, and, with the addition of the television network, the potential for expanding the league's marketing.